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The Tampa Bay Rays took a 1-0 lead in the ALDS over the Red Sox with a convincing 5-0 victory Thursday night at Tropicana Field. The AL East champions Rays are now two wins away from reaching the ALCS for the second consecutive season, while Boston will look to bounce back behind ace Chris Sale in Game 2 on Friday.
Here are some takeaways from the Rays’ 5-0 win.
Cruz goes up in the book of records
Nelson Cruz hit his 18th career playoff homer at the end of the third inning – a single shot that touched the podium at Tropicana Field. Cruz is now tied for sixth on the all-time list with Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson and Jose Altuve. Can you guess the top five? He’s included in the full story here.
The Red Sox hit the ball hard to no avail
If you’re a Red Sox fan, you’ve probably had a tough night shouting obscenities about the number of times they’ve smashed the ball straight at a Rays defenseman. They had nine hits, but they had 16 hard-hit bullets, or the ones with an exit speed of 95 mph or more. The second inning was particularly difficult with a shot from Alex Verdugo at 102.5 mph being a fielder’s choice (although he hit an error) and 105.3 mpg on Bobby Dalbec’s stick being a double play. The next set, they had three eliminations over 98. The sight test matched the readings. They squash the ball directly on defenders, apparently all night. They only hit five times during the entire game and didn’t score. Part of that is the Rays’ defensive positioning, but part of it is just bad luck.
It’s worth pointing out that the Red Sox loaded up goals in the eighth for Rafael Devers but he pulled out some strikes and then Hunter Renfroe came out to end the set.
Playoff Arozarena is back
Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena has made all kinds of playoff stories. He’s hit .377 / .442 / .841 in his 20 games with three doubles, one triple and 10 homers. He set records for most hits, total goals and homers in a single playoff series (note: there was an extra round last year, so he appeared in more games).
Thursday, he ran again:
Later in the game, he robbed the house.
He is the first player to steal home in a playoff game since Javier Báez did so in Game 1 of the 2016 NLCS. He is the first player to hit a home run and steal home in the same playoff game (via MLB stats).
Arozarena was good during the regular season, but was not of star caliber. If he’s going to play another big playoff race, the Rays get terribly scary.
Wandering
Wander Franco got the score with an RBI brace in the first set. The young Rays is only 20 years old. He is the second youngest player with an RBI in his first playoff game after Manny Machado in the 2012 Wild Card Game (via StatsCentre). He would add another brace later in the game, making him the first player in MLB history to have several extra hits in his MLB and playoff debut (via STATS).
Franco got off to a slow start during his promotion to the majors – which is understandable given his age – but once things clicked, they really clicked. In his last 43 games, he’s reached .331 / .388 .535 and struck out just 12 at bat while hitting 14 walks.
And after?
There is not much time to rest. Game 2 is at 7:02 p.m. ET in Tampa Bay (yes, I know the stadium is in St. Petersburg) on Friday night. This will be the third playoff game of four, so get ready for a fun day of baseball. Rookie Shane Baz gets the ball for the Rays against veteran ace Chris Sale. I think we should probably call it a “win” game for the Red Sox.
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